(Yes, there are plans for a movie Fox 2000 already nabbed the film rights.)
The excerpt is from the perspective of Zelie as she sails into the ocean arena.
The horn sounds and I jump overboard, crashing into the warm sea with rushing speed.
Credit: Macmillan Children’s
As I hit, our ship shakes.
The first cannons fire.
Vibrations shudder through the water, rippling through my core.
Spirits of the dead chill the space around me; fresh kills from todays games.
All right,I think to myself, remembering Minolis animation.
The souls are desperate for my touch, for a way to return to life.
If Im truly a Reaper, I have to show it now.
Dammit.The air in my throat thins, going faster as my pulse quickens.
I cant do this.
I cant save us
A blast thunders from above.
I spin as the ship beside ours sinks.
Corpses and shattered wood rain down.
The water around me reddens.
A bloodied body plunges past me to the arena ground.
Terror grips my chest.
One cannonball to the right and that couldve been Tzain.
Come on, I coach myself as the air in my lungs shrivels further.
Theres no time to fail.
I need my magic now.
Oya, hey.The prayer feels strange, like a language half-learned and entirely forgotten.
But after my awakening, our connection should be stronger than ever.
If I call, she has to answer.
Lend me your strength.
Let me protect my brother and free the spirits trapped in this place.
I close my eyes, gathering the electric energy of the dead into my bones.
Ive studied the scroll.
I can do this.
I can be a Reaper now.
Emi awon ti o ti sun
A lavender light glows in my hands.
Sharp heat courses through my veins.
The incantation pushes my spiritual pathways open, allowing ashe to flow through.
The first spirit surges through my body, ready for my command.
The animation takes the shape of a human, forming its body out of the water around us.
Though its expression is clouded by the bubbles, I sense the militant resolve of its spirit.
The first in an army of the dead.
For the briefest moment, triumph overpowers the exhaustion running through my muscles.
A true sister of Oya.
A pang of sadness flashes through me.
If only Mama could see me now.
But I can still honor her spirit.
I will make every fallen Reaper proud.
With the dwindling ashe in me, I chant, casting one more animation to life.
I point to a ship, then give my command.
